The prime minister's parents Ross and Laurell Ardern speak of the arrival of the their granddaughter. (This video was first published in June 2018)Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has told the Woman's Weekly her father, Ross Ardern, has recovered from cancer. "It just reminds you what's really most important and that's to spend as much quality time together as you can," Ardern told the magazine. Though Ardern’s father had recovered, kidney surgery as part of cancer treatment had left him with a hernia. Ross, and Ardern's mother Laurell in 2018 said they were “so excited” that their prime minister daughter had a child, Neve.

ACT's David Seymour, with MPs Karen Chhour and Nicole McKee, releases the 'Democracy or co-governance' policy paper. Iain McGregor/Waikato Times Winston Peters, circa 2005, giving a speech to an appreciative, mostly white, mostly elderly audience. Stuff Winston Peters in 2022, still leveraging cultural discomfort after all these years. Stuff writer Andrea Vance recently observed that co-governance may earn the right to be 2023’s word of the year. Neither Winston Peters nor David Seymour are going to help, but surviving the severe test coming up in 2023 would mature us as a multicultural society in a bicultural nation.

Janak Patel, who was fatally stabbed on Wednesday night as he was working at a dairy in Sandringham. A nationwide protest is planned for Monday following the death of Janak Patel, a dairy worker who was fatally stabbed on Wednesday night. “Hopefully something happens in the future; hopefully the government can do something.”Patel was killed on Wednesday night after the Sandringham dairy he was working in, the Rose Cottage Superette, was robbed. “I need justice for my brother.”CHRIS MCKEEN/STUFF Sunny Kaushal, Dairy and Business Owners Group chair, speaks to media after fatal stabbing of a dairy worker in Sandringham on Wednesday night. The duo were remanded in custody to appear at the High Court alongside the murder accused in December.

National Party leader Christopher Luxon on why a National government would repeal the Three Waters reform. A last-minute clause in the controversial Three Waters bill, voted through hastily by the Government and Green Party last week, has been called “a real danger” to New Zealand’s constitution by a leading legal expert. The change to the bill means any future law change allowing public water assets to be sold would require a vote of 60% of Parliament or a successful public referendum. Labour's Three Waters reform has no such agreement – it has been among the most contentious of its policies. Iain McGregor/Stuff Green Party local government spokesperson Eugenie Sage introduced an order paper to include an entrenchment provision in the Three Waters bill.

“Brass monkey weather” is one of many figurative expressions in English often not recognised as such because they have been around for so long, Laurie Bauer says. OPINION: In Māori Language Week, a few weeks back, much was made of the fact that Māori is a figurative language, and this was seen as a reason for giving the language support. I disagree: every language is full of figurative expressions. All these examples show that English (as an example of a general trend) does not lack figurative expressions. Language Matters is a fortnightly column on all things language.

A global recession is predicted for 2023, but what does that mean and how will it affect Aotearoa? Over the last few decades New Zealand has experienced several recessions. There was a relatively brief one in 2020 as the economy reacted to the shock of the pandemic, but the last ...

Taranaki-born artist Dimmie Danielewski says there is an inherent beauty in representing bodies that do not conform to the status quo. “They have interesting features and lumps and bumps and folds, regardless of their size, shape, colour, gender identity and level of ability. “When you exist in a body that is marginalised today, sometimes you have to be the representation that you want to see in the world,” she said. Born in the Bay of Islands with Taranaki ancestry, Danielewski grew up in Australia and participated in her first exhibition in Darwin. Danielewski started painting 10 years ago and grew up experimenting with acrylic paint, embroidered patches and lino cut print.

Police said they received reports of a man driving erratically in the Tamaki Drive area around 2.40pm Sunday and yelling at members of the public from the vehicle. (File photo)A 27-year-old man is set to face charges in court after allegedly driving erratically around the Auckland suburb of Mission Bay before assaulting a police officer. Police said they received reports of a man driving erratically in the Tamaki Drive area around 2.40pm Sunday and yelling at members of the public from the vehicle. Email aucklandnewsroom@stuff.co.nzAn officer attempted to get the man to hand over his keys however he refused, and resisted arrest. The police Eagle helicopter landed in Mission Bay Reserve and two crew members restrained the man, who was then taken into custody.

The standout driver of the Teams' Invasion Jayden Hall helped the Mid East Select team to a podium finish. SPEEDWAY: The Palmerston North stockcar team’s management need look no further than Jaden Hall to resurrect their national title aspirations later in the season. The much-vaunted Palmerston North Pumas were dumped twice by eventual finalist the Wellington Young Guns and then comfortably handled by the Stratford Stormers. It wasn’t that both Palmerston North teams lost all four races but it was the nature of the losses; drivers failing to complete the 10 laps or failing to read a race when in a strong position. The Manawatū Superstock title went down to a runoff between Palmerston North Panthers teammates Jack Miers and Jordan Dare.

Tauera Roberts speaks at the Timaru Isn’t Meth All Rise Up symposium at Elim Church in Timaru on Saturday. The plan was revealed at the Timaru Isn’t Meth All Rise Up symposium, on Saturday, where the community was challenged to drive the destructive and highly addictive drug out of the district. During the symposium, former meth addicts, and those affected by addiction, also shared their stories. AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff Tauera Roberts speaks at the Timaru Isn’t Meth All Rise Up symposium at Elim Church in Timaru on Saturday. AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff Emma Makatea runs anti-meth programmes in Kapiti and spoke of the challenges in her life that had prompted her to take action.

After being cancelled last year due to Covid and rising costs Christmas at the Bowl is set to make its return on December 18. After being cancelled last year due to Covid-19, New Plymouth's hugely popular Christmas at the Bowl is set to return exactly a week before the big day. The event, in the Bowl of Brooklands, regularly draws crowds of more than 10,000 people for candle-lit Christmas carols, entertainment and fireworks. Pre-show entertainment is provided by “Super Fly” at 6.30pm with the Christmas At The Bowl Variety Show from 8pm. READ MORE:* Covid-19 sees New Plymouth Christmas lunch canned; candlelight carols moved online* TSB Bowl of Brooklands filled with 15,000 people for Christmas show* Vandals damage lighting display in Pukekura ParkNew Plymouth Brass will be on stage to lead the Christmas carols.

Central Hinds coach Jamie Watkins will be in charge of a New Zealand XI to meet Bangladesh. Former Taranaki all-rounder and Central Hinds coach Jamie Watkins has been named as co-coach of a New Zealand women’s XI cricket side to play Bangladesh. Watkins will co-coach the side with former Black Caps opening batsman Craig Cummings. The New Zealand XI will play a one-day international against Bangladesh at Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln on Monday before they meet them again in a Twenty20 match at the same venue on Wednesday. White Ferns squad members Hannah Rowe and Molly Penfold have been included in the squad along with former Taranaki representative Kate Ebrahim.

A US soccer federation screenshot displaying Iran's national flag on social media without the emblem of the Islamic Republic. The US Soccer Federation briefly displayed Iran's national flag on social media without the emblem of the Islamic Republic, saying the move supported protesters in Iran ahead of the two nations' World Cup match. JEROME DELAY/AP The United States and Iran are preparing to meet in a crucial World Cup match. The flag has become a point of contention at the World Cup. In the capital Tehran, anti-riot police - the same ones cracking down on protests - waved the Iranian flag after the Wales win, angering demonstrators.

Stephanie Meek, NZNO delegate and registered nurse at Royston Hospital in Hastings talks about the strike action. Negotiations are breaking down over a planned strike for nurses at private hospitals in Wellington and Hawke’s Bay. But chief executive of Evolution Healthcare Sue Channon​ put out a statement on Sunday afternoon which said the strikes were “totally unnecessary” and she was “disappointed and frustrated”. NZNO/Supplied New Zealand Nurses Organisation chief executive Paul Goulter addresses the striking nurses at Wakefield Hospital. John Cowpland/Stuff NZNO and Evolution Healthcare cannot agree on whether a further offer has been made.

By Chris Trotter*If Jacinda Ardern wasn’t congratulating Victorian Labor’s Dan Andrews on Saturday evening, then she bloody well should’ve been. With a third successive Labor victory under his belt, Andrews is set to become the state’s longest-serving Labor premier. As far as the Australian Right was concerned, Andrews and the Victorian Labor Party were dog-tucker. Andrews’ Victorian victory is of a piece with the general failure of the American Right to achieve the gains it was expecting in the recent mid-term elections. “Friends,” he reassured his fellow Victorians, “hope always defeats hate.”*Chris Trotter has been writing and commenting professionally about New Zealand politics for more than 30 years.